Author
Topic: the pizza of my youth (Read 1505 times)

Gregg

I made pizza this afternoon using a dough recipe from a Good Housekeeping cookbook that my mother received as a wedding gift in 1950, and is one that I ate countless times while growing up. The ingredients list is as follows ....

The dough was made yesterday, allowed to rise at room temperature for about four hours, punching down at two hour intervals, then stored in the refrigerator overnight. It was taken out about six hours before being formed into 7 and 11 inch diameter crusts.Both were topped with Italian sausage, chopped yellow onions, Bel Gioiosso brand fresh mozzarella, and a simple sauce consisting of 8 oz 6in1 tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon each of basil, oregano, and garlic salt. The smaller one also had some green pepper.

The dough ball weighed in at 680 grams, with 340 being used for the 11-inch, 170 for the 7-inch, with the remaining dough returned to the fridge for use in a couple of days. Kneading by hand, the dough was a little on the wet side, requiring about one TBS additional flour so it wouldn't stick. Both pizzas were baked for 12 minutes at 450 degrees, the small on a preheated Lodge 10-inch cast iron griddle and other in a stoneware baking pan that I normally use for deep dish. After not made this for a couple of years, I'd forgotten how much I like this recipe, as it yields a dough that is soft and tender with a bread-like crumb, yet stands up to the amount of toppings used.

I like the look of your pictures, but can't help wondering how it would do it in a hotter oven than 450- like 550? The crust seems a little pale.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll turn the oven up to 550, the highest range of my electric oven, and make another pizza with the remaining 170 grams of dough. Looking forward to seeing the difference it makes and how it changes the character of the dough. You must have been a brave youngster to try pizza again after eating it with that listing of the ingredients you provided.